Quake of the Old World
by Amara the Warrior
Summary: After having a fight with her boyfriend, Quistis stumbles upon Squall. But he isn't the same man he was. Together they find a secret evil that is threatening to tear the world apart. It's time to play *hero* again.


Note: I suffer with Lupus. This is not a story about me. It's more a story about my two favorite characters, Quistis and Squall. I don't own the characters, only the plot. I love to write; it keeps me sane.

Love ya! =)

**CH 1: Sky of Arcadia**

"I don't care what the damn thing says, I want an answer," Quistis yelled out loud. Seifer looked at her with confusion on his face.

"I don't quite understand what you mean," he looked at her in shock. "I don't know what I did wrong."

"You bastard!" she shrieked! "You know exactly what you did wrong! You slept with that slut!"

Frown lines appeared on his face. "Do you mean Amara? She's just a friend!"

Quistis glared at him. "Friend? Yeah right!"

"Quistis," he begged. "It's the truth; she's just a friend."

"No she's not! I read your text messages. You were planning on sleeping with her!"

"What?"

"Don't lie to me…I already know the truth."

"What truth?"

"That you're cheating on me," she explained. "I know it all. I can't take this anymore; I'm moving out. Maybe there's something else out there for me."

She ran to the bedroom and quickly packed her clothes. She needed to get out of that house. There was no future for her there.

He tried to stop her but she ran out the front door. It was pouring rain, yet she was still running. She kept going on and on, never looking back.

Quistis had endured an abusive relationship with Seifer for two long years. He cheated on her, and told her she was no good. It was fortunate that he didn't beat her.

Quistis also had another problem. She had Lupus; and that was making her life very difficult.

She had Lupus for a very long time. She never really talked about it with anybody. There was something about the disease that people found distressing. No one wanted to talk about it, and no one wanted to help her. She felt so alone.

The rain began to fall harder and more violently. She was starting to regret running away from Seifer. But she felt like she had no choice; she couldn't stay in an abusive relationship like that anymore. All Seifer did was cheat and verbally abuse her. She wouldn't have treated her own pets that way.

He was sick bastard.

She heard his angry voice yelling after her. In fear, she ran away. She ran so far that she didn't even know where she was. Her hair was matted with leaves and soaking wet. She was freezing.

There had to be someone around who could help her. She didn't want to believe that she was all alone.

She heard the sound of fireworks and knew that someone was nearby. But…fireworks on a rainy night…was that person insane?

The fireworks kept going and died off because of the heavy rain. Quistis decided to run in the direction of the fireworks. She knew that if there was going to be someone who could help her, that they would be in that area.

She went into the backyard where the fireworks were happening. There she saw a familiar face. She was shocked to see him, because no one had seen him in a long time.

"Squall?" she asked.

He turned around. "Quistis," he replied in a monotone voice. "What are you doing out in this cold?"

She stared at him in shock. "I could ask you the same question; I ran away," she explained. "I couldn't live with Seifer anymore. He was becoming abusive."

He stared at her, not really knowing what to think. "Is that so?" he replied…

"Were you the one setting off fireworks?" she asked. Part of her wondered if Squall had somehow lost his mind.

"Yeah," he answered. "That was me."

"Well…why?" she asked. "It's raining!"

"I don't know," he answered. "Rinoa dumped me."

Immediately she felt pain for the poor man. He didn't deserve that. And then she felt confusion, for she thought that Rinoa and him were married. Well, that was the rumor that was going around. A lot of people made up rumors. And many of them were a load of crap.

But Rinoa dumping Squall…he must have been heartbroken. Not much could take that pain away. But Squall, he was strong; he shouldn't have given up so quickly.

"So you're setting off fireworks because you're heartbroken?" she asked.

"Yeah," he shrugged. "I have nothing better to do."

"That's not true," she said. "You have a lot of gifts…and there is always going to be a woman out there for you."

"Yeah," he agreed. "But Rinoa was really special."

"Well I thought Seifer was really special," she answered. "And he turned out to be a jerk. So it goes both ways...and sadly, things don't always work out the way we want them to. I'm so sorry Squall. I wish there was something I could say to make you feel better but there isn't."

The rain fell harder. It was thundering in the distance. The two of them knew it was a good idea to go inside. "It doesn't matter anymore," he muttered. "Let's go inside; it's way too stormy now."

Stormy...that was an interesting word to use. It reminded Quistis of Squall's eyes. They were always stormy and brooding...

Squall always seemed to be in a quiet mood. He had no reason to be; everyone was friendly and kind to him.

What was he afraid of?

Maybe it wasn't what he was afraid of...but a *who*?

"What happened here?" she asked as she entered his home. "It seems so empty..."

"Rinoa moved all her stuff out," he shrugged.

"Yeah, but it feels so empty?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean it just feels like a solemn place to live. Do you ever feel that way?"

"No," he answered bluntly.

Well the conversation was going just wonderful...

"Quistis," he asked.

"Yes," she responded.

"Do you believe in love?"

"Yes...don't you?"

"Not since my lover broke my heart."


End file.
